Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Dragon Taming (4)
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"Cyan, why'd you come to a place like this?"
~Neutral Stage~ Asral City Magic Library "I came for some spells I need. There are things I have to know if I'm thinking ahead with my plans."
[Sorry, we'll catch up later. I have to head somewhere first.]
After a brief reunion, I headed to the Magic Library in the heart of Asral City with Louis.
This library was a frequent haunt for mage players. It took quite a bit of time to find what you wanted, but it was the easiest place to learn all sorts of spells.
'The Mage Tower would be the best spot normally.'
But it wasn't as efficient as the Mage Tower for becoming a high-rank mage, and if I showed up there looking like a High Elf, all hell would break loose.
I'd probably get jumped the second I walked in.
Mages—excluding players—were mostly perverts, psychos, or straight-up lunatics.
Going by the lore, the NPCs in the Mage Tower were the type who'd sell their souls for magic.
You could actually meet guys like that in quests.
Some of them made Stran's sneak attack look like child's play—real monsters.
I didn't want to tangle with those freaks, and if I did, it'd be better to kill them first.
'Besides, I'm sick of towers.'
On top of that, after half a year cooped up in the Exile Tower, even slightly tall buildings made my stomach churn.
Not just any tall buildings, but ones that shot straight up like the Exile Tower hit especially hard.
'So this is the best option...'
I looked around.
Towering bookshelves surrounded me. If you gathered all the books from the tenth floor of the Exile Tower in one spot, it'd feel like this.
Add in the books on those shelves, and the scale was about the same.
Really spacious.
"...You sure we'll find it in a place like this?"
I wasn't sure if this was the right call, just like Louis said.
The library was insanely bigger than it looked in-game.
The auction house in the black market was about twice the size of a movie theater, and this place was easily double that.
A real labyrinth of actual books.
Thank goodness it was a magic library.
"I'll be here about an hour. You can wander, but no causing trouble."
"Got it."
Alright, time to hunt. Back in the game, I'd learned tons of spells here.
It took a lot of effort dodging the heretic inquisitors to get here, but I managed.
'It should be around here somewhere... There it is.'
Searching through books one by one would take forever, but this was a magic library.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ What magic tome are you looking for? Of course there was a helper to fetch books.
First time I came, I didn't know and searched manually.
"Auxiliary magic, recovery category."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Understood. Please wait a moment. The reason a Demon Race player like me came here was because the spells you could learn depended on your race.
Demons were aggressive and destructive by nature, so destructive or curse magic was easy to find, but support or recovery spells? Nowhere, no matter how hard you searched.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Here you are. Enjoy your time. 'Good, the magic tomes are the same.'
Like this one, for example.
Magic Tome – Recovery Skill I Magic Tome – Recovery Skill II Magic Tome – Recovery Skill III Magic Tome – Recovery Skill IV Magic Tome – Recovery Skill V A five-tier series of recovery magic tomes.
If a player read them all, they'd learn recovery spells matching the titles.
"Page... 640?"
I wasn't sure if it'd work the same here.
I'd never learned recovery magic before.
The spells in the tower were ones Cyan used in-game or that I favored.
I could use them just by understanding them, since I'd "learned" them. But this? Never touched it.
'And the compatibility sucks.'
By compatibility, I mean this:
Demon—Healer! Hit me with a heal!
Priest—Hold on! 3 seconds on cooldown! Healing!
Demon—(Player has died.)
Priest—...???
Simply put, recovery magic damaged Demons instead of healing them.
Same with undead. High-rollers modded healing potions into grenades for fixed damage on high-level undead to level fast.
'There was that bug where heals did percent damage, flooding the Demon realms with priest players.'
Reading this brings back memories.
Was that a few years ago?
Around when Cyan's name started spreading among players. I cut sleep to play back then... Nostalgic.
-Thud!
No way I could read the whole thing, so I skipped some pages.
I only needed one recovery spell right now.
"This should be enough to fully heal."
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Recovery Skill V - Perfect Healing ▶ Fully restores target's HP, MP, and status ailments.
▶ Cooldown: 1 hour
I marked the page with this spell.
It was a must-learn for non-Demon players in the early-mid game, when potions were scarce. Low HP? Pop a Recovery Skill.
'But mana can only be restored with potions or natural regen.'
This one's huge advantage: full MP restore.
That's why it was essential despite the insane one-hour cooldown.
Not that I need it...
Someone else does.
"Hope it works without a hitch."
-Flash!
I teleported to Louis.
"Whoa, Cyan?!"
"There you are."
Louis jumped in surprise.
He'd been reading various books in one corner. A dragon knowing human script? Well, he could talk, so probably.
"Come closer, Louis."
I beckoned him.
"Huh? Okay."
The tome said target had to be within 1m.
I got the hang of it, no chant needed.
'Status check first.'
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Red Dragon 'Louis' (Hatchling) Lv. 150 ※ HP: 2,000,000 / MP: 15,000 ※ Note: Stats reduced by 50% ▶ Hatchling abandoned by mother, critically weakened from battle with Minotaur King. Debuff still there.
Even as a dragon, human potions couldn't fully heal him. The ones I gave were mid-grade at best.
They only cleared superficial scratches; internal injuries lingered.
"What's up, Cyan?"
"Hold still. Tell me if anything feels weird."
I grabbed his head.
Almost touched the horn—dragons hate that; it's where mana gathers.
Here goes...
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Perfect Healing -Crackle!
"Huh?"
A blue light flared, red mana enveloping Louis.
Spell activated perfectly.
'And now the status.'
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Red Dragon 'Louis' (Hatchling) Lv. 150 ※ HP: 4,000,000 / MP: 30,000 HP and MP doubled.
...No, back to normal.
'No wonder he seemed so weak.'
Lv. 150 hatchling or not, he was way too frail. The appraised stats had the 50% debuff applied.
"Cool! I don't hurt anymore. How'd you do that?"
"Recovery magic. Plenty of tomes here."
"You're amazing, Cyan..."
He seemed to notice his full recovery, hopping around in wonder.
Definitely better condition than before.
His body must've felt twice as heavy; now it's gone.
'...Anyway, Demons and recovery magic don't mix.'
-Sizzle...
I checked my right hand, the one that cast it.
No pain, but the surface was badly burned, as expected.
Damage from a Demon using recovery magic.
'Heals in 3 seconds, but better not use unless necessary.'
Can't get high-grade elixirs in the tutorial, so this'll do.
I regen from near-death in a minute, but not Louis.
-Pop!
Hand back to normal.
Cyan's regen is 2% HP per second. That burn was nothing.
Could cast it 10 times straight no problem.
One-hour cooldown anyway; not spammable.
"...So, what book were you reading, Louis?"
Excited by his light body, he bounced around the library until an elf librarian scolded him there.
Expected.
While I teleported earlier, he'd hidden a book. Time to check it.
"What book made you panic like that?"
Dragon's Betrothed Vol. 1 Curious, I peeked.
Title sounded like a normal novel. No need to hide in shock...?
"..."
I asked the floating orb helper what it was.
I think I get why he hid it so fast.
Tags: #Fantasy #PureLove #Yuri #Munchkin "What the..."
He's young, curious. Hatchlings are like human kids developing personality.
Yeah, gotta chalk it up to that...
"Cyan! Thank you so much!"
Louis ran over after his scolding.
Why'd chills run down my spine?
Probably that book.
"Stop right there."
"?"
"Don't come within 1m of me. That's an order."
"W-Why?!"
I turned and headed out of the library.
An hour flies by reading. Time was up.
Borrowed what I needed and rushed to meet that adventurer party.
"Hey, Cyan, can I borrow this book?"
Dragon's Betrothed Vol. 2 "...No."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 🎭 Today's Unlocked Emoticon + Louis